Domestic Violence

Somewhere in America at this very moment, a woman is being abused. She will be left with bruises, cuts, broken bones, and scars. The scars that last forever are not physical; however, they are ones of mental anguish. Her abuser is not a stranger, rather her husband or boyfriend. In this country, domestic violence is almost as common as giving birth. There is, however, hope for these women; help is available.

Domestic violence occurs way too often in American society. There are many reasons why people need to speak out against domestic violence. One reason is that statistics show that most abusers will continue to abuse until they are arrested. Another reason is that domestic violence doesn't only physically harm a woman; it also mentally harms the woman and any children involved. The third reason is that help is available.

A man who physically abuses a woman can not be stopped unless he is given counseling, jailed, or killed. He will continue to abuse until he is stopped, and ignoring the problem will definitely not help it go away. Husbands and boyfriends send more women to the hospital each year than strangers do (Campbell 95). The US Surgeon General reports that, "domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to American women between the ages of fifteen and forty- four" (Briggs and Davis 94) . Abusers need to be stopped before its too late for their victims.

Women are not the only victims of abuse. Children who live in a situation where domestic violence is prevalent suffer in many ways. The psychological impact of witnessing violence among many children is just as severe as if they had been the victims of physical or sexual abuse themselves (Krueger 94). These children who witness abuse at home suffer in many unseen ways, and too often their pain goes untreated (Krueger 94). If an abused woman does not have the guts to stand up for her own safety, the least she can do is protect her children. An abused...

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

...DomesticViolence in the Eye of the Law
Every 9 seconds in the US a woman is assaulted or beaten. Many people often wonder what it takes for the offender to be arrested and sometimes accuse officers of not doing their job correctly. Police officers tend to have very strict protocol, not only for the victim’s safety but their safety as well, that they are to follow when responding to domesticviolence calls. The laws regarding these domestic calls are especially crucial to the victims because they give them options dealing with life or death situations.
Domesticviolence is not something that has recently started. Cases of what is known today as domesticviolence have been dated back to medieval times. During this time a wife’s only duties were to cater to her husband needs, carry their child, and take care of the household chores. Husbands had total control over their wife and kids. Physical actions including the murder of their wife were allowed as long as it could be proved that it was done for disciplinary purposes. Women were killed by their husbands for reasons such as talking back, miscarrying a child, or complaining. Eventually the law provided husbands the right to punish their wives under moderation. “Early settlers in America based their laws on an Old-English common-law that explicitly permits wife-beating for correctional purposes....

...DomesticViolence is a problem sweeping the nation. This problem can affect anyone from anywhere but is generally acting out upon children and adult women in abusive relationships. Domesticviolence is emotionally and physically scarring for anyone involved, and as a result could take multiple intervention meetings to begin to understand the issue, alleviate the associated problems, and to assist the victim in getting back on his or her feet. The consequences of abuse include anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and self-harm. Children may begin to act differently to their usual behavior - withdrawal is very common, as is self-harming (Khan, 2012). There are two ways that people can consider interventions for victims of domesticviolence. These two methods are short-term solutions and long-term solutions. Short- term solutions are simply putting the victim into short-term counseling sessions and getting them started with local advocacy groups to help them be able to recognize the problems they have as well as the warning signs before the problems get out of hand. These local resources also help the victim understand that their situation can always be different and provide them with contacts to reach out to in the case of an emergency. Local advocacy groups help the victim get the help they need before it is too late. The other method of intervention for victims of...

...Heather O’Banion
Ms. Moermond
English 125
June 11, 2012
DomesticViolence
Each day, the statistics on domesticviolence get more and more horrifying. A woman is beaten every 9 seconds, 22 to 35 percent of emergency room visits from women are because of ongoing partner abuse, and every day in the US at least 3 women are killed by their husbands or boyfriends. Also domesticviolence is the leading cause of injuries to women, more than car accidents, muggings and rapes combined. All these statistics prove that domesticviolence is a big problem in our country, and these are only the reported incidents, most do not get reported.
Battering in a relationship is the establishment of control and fear through violence and other forms of abuse. The batterer will use acts of violence and goes through a series of behaviors, including intimidation, threats, psychological abuse, isolation, etc. to control the other person. The violence in the relationship may not happen often but it remains a hidden and terrorizing factor.
There are various types of abuse, most people think that the physical abuse is the most obvious but most abusers will hurt the person in a place that can be covered easily. The abused person may wear long sleeves when it hot or makeup to cover up bruises. The victim may make up excuses for their...

...﻿Mia Ridler
Examine the patterns of, and reasons for, domesticviolence in society.
Domesticviolence whether its physical, emotional, psychological, financial or sexual, is used as a form of intimidation to gain control and power. Domesticviolence can involve partners, ex-partners, household members or other relatives.
Women statistically are more often the victims both men and women can be subject to domesticviolence. Men may turn to violence due to the stresses and pressure to conform to the male conjugal role and need to be superior. Subtle but persistent social norms in the media, the workplace etc, have strong opinions on gender roles and an expectation which needs to be upheld. Whilst women are more likely to be psychologically abusive and threaten denial of abusive behaviour, or departure, both act on fear of loss. Children can often be a powerful weapon because most men know that divorce settlements are more likely to award custody to the women. Substance abuse is another factor which has a significant impact on domesticviolence as it creates a hostile environment between family members aswell as altering the perception and judgement of the user.
Dobash and Dobash (1979) believe that marriage encourages violence toward women as it initiates a lifestyle where by the men are authoritative and in...

...DomesticViolenceDomesticviolence is described as a pattern of behaviors used by one person in a relationship to control the other. This problem is not exclusive to only spouses and intimate partners, but is also inclusive of abuse among adult siblings who reside together, as well as adults who care for their elderly parents. Many times these cases are unreported, leaving it difficult to know the depth of the problem. The abuse is not limited to heterosexual couples and women, there are many cases of abuse in homosexual couples and males, women are the biggest victim, making up nearly 2 million of the reported cases. Domesticviolence takes place everywhere in the United States, and the approach taken by each state on how to handle these cases differs.
There are many factors that are considered when determining the causes of domesticviolence. One cause is the ancient tradition of paterfamilias (“father of the family”), defined as ancient Roman law that gave senior males extreme power over the other members of the family. This way of society gave the paterfamilias total control of life and death over the family. Decisions such as letting a child die, selling children into slavery, permission to marry, and permission to strike a spouse or child to enforce his will were all well within his rights. Making any objections to his decisions or actions was...

...Domesticviolence is a fight for control over one’s significant others thoughts, beliefs, or
behaviors to punish the partner for resisting one's control. It’s a game of fear and intimidation.
The DomesticViolence Legal Definition (1995) is "any assault, battery, sexual assault, sexual
battery, or any criminal offense resulting in physical injury or death of one family or household
member by another who is or was residing in the same single dwelling unit" (Title XLIII, Chapter
741, Statute 741.28). Domesticviolence is a worldwide issue, not only among heterosexual
couples but also among homosexual couples. When people think of domesticviolence they
mostly think of a woman being beaten by a man. Even a women being beat by another women
is acknowledged, but a man beating a man is an issue that is often ignored. There are many
forms of abuse that take place throughout these relationships besides the obvious physical
abuse. Often times this abuse is thought as a direct result of substance abuse within the
relationship. The topic of my paper is domesticviolence among gay couples and the correlation
of substance abuse.
Domesticviolence is the third largest health problem facing gay men today, right behind
substance abuse and AIDS. Domesticviolence...

...Shivana Per.
Power and Control
DESCRIPTION
Domesticviolence as well as emotional abuse are behaviors used by one person in a relationship as a means of control over the other person. The status of the relationship between those in a domesticviolence situation varies. They can be married or unmarried; heterosexual, gay, or lesbian; living together, separated or just dating. One in every four women will experience domesticviolence in her lifetime. That is an estimated 1.3 million women becoming a victim of physical assault at the hands of an intimate partner each year. Although a vast majority at eighty-five percent of victims being women anyone can fall into the role of being battered regardless of age, sex, race, culture, religion, education, employment or marital status. Women ages 20 to 24 have the greatest risk of becoming victims of domesticviolence. (1)
It is estimated that each year about 960,000 cases of domesticviolence are reported each year, that is without the inclusion of those that go unreported. (2) About three to four their husbands, ex-husbands or lovers beat million women inside their homes. With that being said one woman is battered every fifteen seconds by her partner. (1) Victims of domesticviolence do not possess a set of universal characteristics or personality traits,...

...anymore
Make a heaven her own home
It’s her claim
Hers to have earned.”
DOMESTICVIOLENCE
A country whose national personification lies in that of the Mother Goddess ‘Bharat Mata’, whose citizens chant ‘Jai Mata Di’ with more vehemence than dancing on their own weddings, it is more than impossible to envision the horrific state of the women of this country.
Marriage for an Indian woman is not just the love and bonding with her husband it is about building strong bonds with every member of her husband’s family, when an Indian woman shifts from her parent’s home to her husband’s home, she also shifts her loyalties from her parents and siblings to her in-laws. Marriage for an Indian woman means the end of her already limited independence, it is the end of holding any individual social or economic status. For the sacrificial being that an Indian woman is expected to be, her only hope and expectation of finding love, respect and care from her husband is rarely ever met. Due to the large number of superstitious beliefs existing in the Indian society, the wife is usually considered the bringer of any kind of misfortune that comes by to her husband’s family, she is also blamed for any misunderstanding caused between the couple.
Domesticviolence is the act of physical, emotional, psychological or sexual abuse at the hands of a person whom a woman is acquainted with intimately. Domestic...